


Nate’s Motley Crew—The Explaining His Team Job

by crayonbreakygal



Series: Lock the Damn Door [6]
Category: Falling Skies, Leverage
Genre: Drama, Multi, Possibly Unrequited Love, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-08-16 18:48:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8113420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crayonbreakygal/pseuds/crayonbreakygal
Summary: Nate wanted to laugh, knowing that the word described the five of them to a T.  They all acted tough, particularly around the folks that they had taken up with to survive, but he knew them so well.  Takes place after season four, parellel to the Falling Skies universe.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I can't seem to stop writing in this 'verse. It's intriguing to push and pull the characters together and apart by relationships. I really am stretching though on following the Falling Skies timeline. I am hitting the direct plotpoints though. Enjoy!

Nate’s Motley Crew—The Explaining His Team Job

Takes place after season four, parallel to the Falling Skies universe

“Motley crew you have there.”

Nate wanted to laugh, knowing that the word described the five of them to a T.  They all acted tough, particularly around the folks that they had taken up with to survive, but he knew them so well.  He knew how insecure Parker was, how shy Eliot could get, how Hardison could freeze up at any moment, how Sophie would cry in the middle of the night and not remember in the morning.

“There something you need, Mason?”

Nate thought he’d regret joining up with the 2nd Mass, but now wasn’t the time to ruminate over that.  Tom Mason wanted to know who was joining with his so-called crew too.  The man wasn’t stupid.  As a matter of fact, the man had held together hundreds of people, had not crumbled under the pressure and certainly had garnered the support to become a leader.  Nate just wanted to make it through the day without killing anyone.

“Let’s talk.”

Leading him over to a tent, Tom gestured for Nate to sit.  Pulling out a bottle of scotch, he offered Nate a drink.  Was it polite to refuse?  He could smell it, his mouth salivating for one taste.  Well, one taste would ruin him, so he did refuse. Sophie would be proud of him.

“To each his own?”

“More like too much temptation.”

“Oh, sorry about the offer.”

“No offense taken.  It wasn’t pleasant going through detox.”

“So, you want to explain to me how, no, let me start again.  What in hell are you guys?”

Nate laughed a little.  It was difficult to explain in good times.  Sometimes when talking to clients, they’d just looked at him strangely, like he’d grown two heads when he discussed helping them.  Now, with all that had happened, how on earth was he supposed to describe the four of them, without revealing what they really meant to him?

“What do you want to know?”

“Spencer military? Because we certainly could use more of that around here.”

“Once upon a time.  Long time ago.  He doesn’t like guns though. Don’t ask. It’s a long story.”

“He’s armed to the teeth.”

“And when he says he can kill you with his pinky, he really means he can kill you with his pinky.”

“That dangerous?”

“Yeah.  I’ve seen it firsthand.”

“I know who you are.”

Nate sat up straight, looking Mason in the eye.

“How?”

“Friend of a friend.  You helped save their business.  Rumors?  Are they true?  Do you remember Delaney O’Connor?”

Nate remembered every client, every situation, every outcome, every case they had ever taken.  It was all cataloged away, ready to pull out at a moment’s notice. It wasn’t like he’d need that information in the near future, but maybe, just maybe it could come in handy someday.

“Yeah.  Nice man.”

“He’s dead.”

Nate shuddered.  That didn’t surprise him in the least bit.  He was sure he’d lost other friends too, probably Maggie, Jim Sterling and whoever else he had crossed paths with in his history.

“Trying to save his daughter.”

“You were there?”

“Yep.”

“Daughter?”

Mason shook his head no, looking down at the floor.

“You got family?” Mason asked.

“Once, a long time ago.  Now they’re my family.”

“Kids?”

“Dead.”

“Sorry. My three, you know. You met two of them.  Yours?”

“Oh, died, before all this happened.  Cancer.”

“I’m sorry.”

“The other three, in your group. Are there going to be any issues?”

Issues?  Nate could just wonder what issues the other three could bring up.

“I chased all four at one point.  They all are criminals.”

“So Pope was right.”

“Yep. Pretty much.”

“And now?”

“And now they fight. They’re mine. And I don’t take kindly of anyone who might think otherwise.”

“Point taken.  The girl, blonde. She said she stole the weapon?”

“Parker.  Master thief.  Eliot thinks she’s crazy. Hell, even I thought that for a while.  I’ll make sure she doesn’t lift everyone’s wallet.”

“Not like we need them anymore.  Young guy, you called him a hacker?  Not like he’d be useful now.  Nothing to hack into.”

“He hacked the Pentagon when he was twelve.  NSA has a file on him a mile long.  Oh, that’s right. The NSA doesn’t exist anymore.”  Nate laughed, realizing that whatever files existed were probably gone.  “If we can find any kind of alien tech, he’s our guy.  He’s the smartest man I know.”

“Good to know. We have a few pieces that we can’t even begin to understand.”

“I’ll have him take a look at whatever you need done.” Nate had every reason to be intimidated by this man.  He was thinking just like Nate would think.  “Professor of History? How does a professor go from being a teacher to this?”

“Oh, but my specialty is war history, American history. I don’t know.  Sometimes I wonder myself.”

“Kind of fell in your lap?”

Mason took a drink, thinking about what Nate had said.

“Yeah.  Kinda like that.  The woman? She’s a tough nut to crack.”

“Sophie.  I chased her all over the globe for ten years. Never actually caught her.”

“What did she steal?”

“What didn’t she steal.  I could have caught her, but whatever it was that she was stealing at the time, I was paid to either thwart her efforts, or get it back.  Saved the insurance company millions.”

“One step ahead of you?”

“Every single time.  She’s dangerous.”

“I have no doubt about that. You gonna be able to control them?”

“As I said, they’re mine.  They’ll listen to me, for the most part.”

Mason’s eyebrows shot up with that pronouncement.

“I have enough loose cannons right now.”

“Pope and his bunch?”

“Are the biggest pain in my ass.  But I need them.”

“I understand.  And you?”

“Me?  You misunderstand.  I am not the leader here.  Just filling until Colonel Weaver is healthy.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t worry.  He’s reasonable.  To a point.  He’s going to go nuts when he meets Spencer.  He’s been our only military person. I’m just not a strategist like he is.”

“Whatever help you need.”

After shaking hands with Mason, Nate went to find the others.  As usual, Parker had picked at least a dozen pockets, but put it all back at Eliot’s chiding. 

“Not a lot of privacy,” Sophie mentioned to him as they traveled with the 2nd Mass.

“Nope.”

“You, me, the truck. Later.”

It didn’t take long for Nate to figure out what exactly Sophie had planned since she’d grabbed his crotch as she said it.  Nothing went past the bastard Pope though, because he must have seen the exchange. And here he thought they were being discreet.

“What?” he yelled at Pope.

“Gotcha by the balls, now hasn’t she Ford?”

“At least I got ‘em.”

The rest of Pope’s group laughed.

“Oh, I bet I could woo her away from you. She looks to be a handful. Or possibly more than handful if my eyes are correct.”

“Nate, you want me to kill him?” Eliot said as he came up to Nate’s side.

“Not yet.”

“Right.  You keep thinking that, Spencer.  Ford, keep your guard dog chained up and away from me.”

Parker then scared the living daylights out of him by appearing directly beside him.  Pope tried not to look scared, but by the looks he was giving Parker, it wasn’t easy.

“And get the fucking crazy chick away from me.”

“I could kill him,” Eliot reminded Nate.

“I know you could.  Let’s just wait and see.”

“Or I could break a few fingers.”

“Eliot, we are their guests.”

“Yeah, but still.”

Nate laughed a little at that. He really did want Eliot to teach the guy a lesson, but they needed all hands on deck every second of the day and Pope had proven that he could fight.

Eliot was close to him, a little too close.

“Is this gonna be a thing?”

“What thing? Oh, sorry.  Remember what I said though.”

“Parker and Hardison need you.”

“There’s a difference between need and want.”

“And as you know, I’ve already made my decision.”

“That kiss told me otherwise.”

“Chalk it up to experience.  I wanted to see.”

“See what?”

“In another world, another time, I really don’t know what would have happened.  Right now?”

“Right now, Sophie is your world.  Just treat her right.”

“I wouldn’t do otherwise.”

Nate looked at Eliot and he did the same.

“Hello, boys,” Sophie called out, using her Annie voice.  “Looks like you could cut the tension with a knife.  Do I need to find you two a room?”

“No, Sophie,” Nate answered, a little annoyed with her inference.

“Suit yourself.”

Nate was right in traveling in the truck with five people.  Two often rode in the back, giving three more room.  Hardison and Parker hadn’t complained since they disappeared under a tarp as Eliot was driving.  Nate just had to roll his eyes, making Sophie laugh as he did.

“I don’t even want to know.”

Sophie grabbed his thigh and squeezed tight, making him hard instantly.

“Sophie, behave.”

“Oh, party pooper.”

After stopping for the night, a victory party commenced over a battle that actually went as they had planned. Whatever drinks could be found started to flow.  Nate was able to resist when offered, although it looked like Sophie could not. Her hands wandered on and off all night, capped by her dancing provocatively right in front of everyone, but she only had eyes for him.

“Like an audience,” he whispered in her ear as she sat in his lap afterwards. 

“I do miss that.”

As Pope watched the two, Nate pulled her into a kiss as her hands grabbed the back of his neck to hang on.

“My, aren’t you possessive tonight.”

“Sophie, you’re tipsy.”

“Nate, you’re horny.”

Parker had disappeared with Eliot earlier, leaving Hardison to himself. He didn’t seem to mind, talking with several of the survivors, including Mason’s children.  They all were close to the same age, so Nate was glad that Hardison might have someone that could relate to him, if just a little.

Nate gestured over to Hardison.  “Make sure the asshole doesn’t follow us.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he’d get off on watching.”

Nate’s eyebrows shot up in understanding.

“I’ll distract him.  I gotta ask him about the bullets anyway.  Believe it or not, he’s the one who discovered that piece.”

“Will wonders never cease.”

“Yeah. All that and more. Take Sophie and you know.  Before she spontaneously combusts or somethin’.”

Hardison gestured to Pope and pulled him aside while Nate slipped out of the party with Sophie.  By the sounds of things, he wasn’t the only one who wanted the company of someone tonight.

“Oh, my, Mr. Ford. Now where on earth are you taking me?”

She had slipped into her southern accent, hands roaming as he made his way to the truck, which Eliot had parked in an out of the way place for better access.

“We have a tent for this, you know.”

“Where everyone can hear what we’re doing. When you scream my name, I want to be the only one to hear it.”

The truck wasn’t the ideal place, but it would do.  Too many layers were Nate’s only issue with the clothing that Eliot had insisted they all wear.  Sophie had first balked at wearing any of the gear, but once Eliot showed her why she needed it all, she was fine, up to a point.  The fact that underneath she still had her silky, lacy underwear was only known to Nate.  She had her pants down and off before he shut the door. The jacket was next, but she didn’t pull her shirt off all the way, only unbuttoning it to expose the lace underneath.

“I missed this,” he groaned as he lay her down on the bench seat.

He remembered a time, which seemed like long ago but wasn’t, when they were frantic with need, pulling their clothes off in the apartment, taking each other on every surface they could use. Then it had slowed down to lazy days of just them and a bed.  Now, he just needed to have her next to him.

Her underwear was down around one ankle as he dove in for a taste.  She almost screamed as he touched her for the first time in weeks, only having been able to spend a few moments together and then it was a quick fuck against a wall that they’d found unoccupied. He was unbelievably hard, but knew that Sophie needed this more, and would reward him later.

“Just get on with it,” she begged as he teased her.

Plunging a finger inside her, he added more very quickly, adding in his tongue as she writhed on the seat. One drawn out word fuck from her mouth had her coming hard and fast. He wondered if he should make her go again until she pulled him away, kissing him with her tongue shoved down his throat.

“Fuck me,” she whispered in his ear.

“Thought that’s just what I did.”

“Funny man.”

Her hands fumbled as she pulled him out of his pants.

“Sophie, we, we gotta…” he moaned as she pumped her hand up and down him.

The condom was already in her hands and on before he could say anymore.  As she sank down on him, his back pushed up against the seat, his hands parted her shirt, revealing the top of her lace bra. Tonguing her through the lace, she sped up the frantic pace she had set at the offset.

“Soph, slow down.”

“Feels so good,” she moaned into his ear.

Grasping her hips, he managed to slow her a bit, taking her mouth with his own, hand traveling up to tease past the lace. The nipple was already erect as his thumb slowly circled it, making her groan into his mouth.

“Beautiful,” he told her as a hand on her hip moved around to the front.

It only took two or three strokes and she was clenching around him. He wanted to prolong this, knowing that this might be their only chance to be together for a long time. Yanking the lace down, his mouth found what he was looking for, gently sucking as her orgasm intensified.  He shouted his release finally, not able to keep from it any longer. Her muscles were still squeezing tight though, until her head fell back with her screaming his name.  He certainly hoped that no one heard her, but right at that moment, he couldn’t really have cared less.

“Remember what I said about not killing me?” he panted out.

“I think you just did that to me,” she said as her head fell to his neck.

It looked like he’d just ravished her, hair everywhere, lips red and swollen, breast hanging out from her bra.  She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

“Soph?”

She started to place light kisses on his face. He truly hoped that she didn’t want to go again.  There was no way after what they had just experienced. Stilling her exploration, he brought her face directly in front of his.

“Soph.  I love you.”

“What did you just say?”

“I, I said it. I love you.  Now what are you going to do about it?”

“I, are you just saying it because of what we just did, because that was earth shattering, but Nate, don’t say it just to have me in your bed.  Or as in our case, in the truck.”

“I had to say it. What I mean is, I wanted to say it.”

“Had to?  Why?  Marking your territory a little too much.”

“That has nothing to do with it.  There’s, there just seemed to not be enough time. I wanted you to know where I stand.”

“I see.”

“Do you?”

“Eliot?”

“What about Eliot?”

Oh boy, did she know what had been going on between them?  Nothing had really gone on except for that one thing.  She certainly didn’t know about Eliot’s feelings.  Of course, this was Sophie he was thinking about.  She saw too much sometimes.

“He told me that you loved me but couldn’t say it.”

“Maybe he was right.  I just couldn’t wait any longer.”

“Do you love him too?”

Sophie was still on top of him, still pulsing from what she had just experienced.  And here she was asking him if he was in love with someone else?

“Not like you.  I mean, not that way.”

“Could you, love him I mean?”

“No. I don’t think so.”

“You don’t think so.  Or you just don’t want to know.”

“It’s complicated.”

“Oh, you do complicated so well,” she answered back sarcastically.

As he grabbed the back of her head and dove in for another kiss, she resisted until he convinced her that he was sincere. Coming up for air, she stroked his face lightly with her fingers.

“I love you. What I feel for the others is nothing compared to this.  You will always be it for me.  Do you understand?”

“I do.  I understand. I know though that he has feelings for you.”

“And there’s nothing I can do about it.  I can only see what’s in front of me and it’s always been you.”

“Don’t hurt him.”

“I don’t intend on hurting him.  He knows how I feel.”

“Oh.”

Nate sighed against her lips, drawing her in once more, trying to show her with his touch that he indeed cared for her more than life itself.

“So you discussed this.”

“In so many words.  Yeah.”

“Which means you didn’t and it will fester. Oh, Nate.”

“This is not a discussion that I can have when I don’t know what to say.”

“Do you love him?”

“Not, not in that way.”

“You don’t sound convinced.”

“I am.  Believe me, I am.”

Not that he wasn’t intrigued by Eliot’s proposal.  The man did challenge him in so many ways.  He belonged to Parker and Hardison and it should stay that way.

“Parker and Hardison need him.”

“And I need you,” she declared, moving over him once again.

“Soph, gotta give me a little time.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t have a little fun while I wait.”

Nate’s eyes crossed as she twisted her hips.  Later on, as she lay on top of him, this time totally satiated from another round, he realized that this indeed was what he wanted.  Whatever Eliot wanted, needed, really wasn’t his problem.  He probably needed to explain that to Eliot at some point in the near future, if just to make sure there were no hurt feelings.  The kiss between them had been a mistake, something that was in impulse, in the heat of the moment.  He just hoped he hadn’t given Eliot some kind of hope that his affections were going to be returned. Hurting anyone, even someone as close as Eliot, would not work.  He’d see to that.


End file.
